Catholic school fees
anyone had theirs waived?

(Cross-posted in 'managing money' as I was unsure where to post this).

Hi,

DS' FYOS will be 2013. I'm looking at enroling him at our local catholic PS & as a single parent on PPS, I'll be initially unable to pay full fees.

I'm interested to hear from anyone who has had their fees waived due to financial hardship? The little bit of research I've so far undertaken indicates that the diocese accepts a certain number of non-fee paying students/families. I'll be contacting the school's Principal this week but curious in the meantime.

My school has fees that are $974 per term (for three terms only) with the option to pay these fortnightly. I'm not sure what the criteria is for waiving any of these fees. Note as well that you will need to buy uniforms, though our school also had a second hand uniform store available as well.

If you aren't a practicing Catholic, your chances of receiving a fee reduction are somewhere around diddly squat.

I would say this - also, hardship reductions may only apply temporarily for families who were already enrolled but then fell on hard times as a means of keeping those kids in that school - if you can't afford it from day one then I wouldn't think they would take an enrolment.

Our school doesn't waive the fee they just accept what you are able to pay, as long as you are a member of the parish. It is based on a case by case basis, but everyone is expected to contribute something.

Just contact the finance officer at the school and they will explain your options to you. Our school offers fortnightly and monthly payments if you need.

I know of one family who received financial support from the school (ie, had the fees waived for a year or so) BUT the kids were already enrolled and attending school, and the breadwinner was made redundant and found it difficult to find another job.

Also, they were practising Catholics and had made a huge (non-financial) contribution to the school and parish. Not sure whether this had anything to do with it, but the kids were also quite bright and high academic achievers.

Are you well-known and well-respected in the parish/diocese more broadly? If not, you may well find it difficult/impossible to get your fees waived.

Not sure if anyone has mentioned it but some schools will reduce your fees if your can spend some time helping out at the school, ie gardening, canteen, helping in the office etc. Its worth asking if you can contribute something extra to make up for the reduction in fees if they initially reject your request

So you're not catholic, have made no contribution to the church or their community, but expect them to waive fees for your child?

If your ex husband wants them in a catholic school, he should pay for it.

I don't "expect" them to do anything. I'm putting the question out there to determine options. As for XH - I didn't want to go into it in this thread but he thinks by spending anything extra above CS on the boys, that he can use it as leverage/blackmail/whatever. Which is why I asked the question in the first place. If he was willing to contribute, I'd have no need for fees to be waived.

When I went to the interview for my child way back in 2000 I was asked directly by the principal how I would be able to pay the fees. (The answer was easy for me - I told him it was cheaper than childcare- which it was)

Medium Long term to long term are you going to be able to pay them - also you have another child are you going to be in a position to pay them for both students. I would have answers for these ready before you speak to the school.

I know that when I sent in an enrollment application to our local catholic primary we had to sign to say we could afford and would be paying the school fees.I think your chances would be slim to get a place at the school with the intention of not paying the fees.

I guess the school doesn't know whether you *might* be able to pay full fees sometime in the future. Unfortunately you wont be able to give them a date, or even a year, when you will be able to pay fees to them (as it will depend I guess on your circumstances, if you're hoping to get a job etc etc). Even with your assurances that, say, next year you'll be working and able to pay fees, things don't always work out the way we plan them. It'd be a big risk to them taking on another family who may then not be able to pay fees for years.

I know they do take some non-fee paying families, and not sure how exactly it works but I know one Catholic school we were looking at leaves some positions for ATSI children. Not sure whether the ATSI children get reduced fees, or zero fees or what.

I’m not expecting you to be as calm as you might be right now. What I mean is that if your panic levels are through the roof during a stressful situation, let’s bring them down to just under the ceiling.

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